In an effort to produce automobiles which are lighter and more efficient, automotive designers continue to seek ways to utilize smaller displacement engines without noticeable, if any, sacrifice in power. Typically, this feat has been accomplished through the use of a large throttle body to force an increased volume of air through the engine so as to accordingly increase the power output.
The problem encountered by this approach, however, is that it is exceedingly difficult to control idle on small displacement engines which are very sensitive on the throttle plate. This problem has been addressed by those skilled in the art through the use of air by-pass valves which are separate pieces of hardware used for fine tuning. As its name explains, the air by-pass valve literally by-passes the throttle plate to allow the engine to be more easily controlled at idle. As readily seen, this prior art approach inherently introduces a new component which increases the manufacturing and labor costs of the vehicle and, which ultimately, must be passed on to the consumer.
Consequently, a need has developed for a system and method for making fine adjustments to an automobile engine--particularly at the idle range--without the introduction of additional hardware. Such a system and method should be particularly suited to measuring throttle position for an electronic throttle control system so as to control air, fuel, spark, etc. Such a system should not require the use of additional hardware or contacting elements which will add additional expense or wear out.